


Tiny Steps for Tiny Hearts

by chippedcookie, doitall



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 01:37:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9856229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chippedcookie/pseuds/chippedcookie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/doitall/pseuds/doitall
Summary: Kyungsoo is on an epic quest, emphasis on epic. It's been a long time since it started and most times everything felt a bit like fighting off a storm with a big heavy sword. Useless, tiring and a bit embarrassing.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for do-itall fic fest (Prompt #189)
> 
> Author's Note: OP I hope you enoy this little thing!

Kyungsoo is trying to decide if he really wants to try cinnamon toothpaste or stick with boring boring mint, when someone bumps into him. After the first five seconds it became more of a existential question, did he become so boring and lame that he cannot even bring himself to try new things? What has his life come to? Besides the fact that he is on an epic quest to find the love of his life, what else is there? Will they even like someone so plain whose teeth always only smell and taste like mint? On the other hand, what if they hate cinnamon? What if they are allergic to it and their first kiss lands them straight to the emergency room?  
  
He is about to grab them both, mint and cinnamon, when someone bumps into him from his left, reaching for the strawberry toothpaste. Kyungsoo would have paid much more attention to that if only his brain hadn't just short-circuited.  
  
“Sorry,” a deep voice says and Kyungsoo has enough coordination left to turn his head and stare. And stare. And stare.  
  
Soon it becomes clear that the person beside him is starting to get uncomfortable under Kyungsoo's scrutinizing gaze. What he doesn't know is that under that dead stare and stunted expression, Kyungsoo is trying to reign in the thousand f fireworks that have just gone off in his head and the sudden need to burst into song. It wouldn't really be the best first impression, but it would surely beat _this_.  
  
The man smiles, strained but still so fucking beautiful Kyungsoo stops breathing, waves the tub of toothpaste he just grabbed from the shelf and says. “Well, sorry again.”  
  
Then he is gone.  
  
As Kyungsoo had written in a very embarrassing page on a very embarrassing diary when he was sadly not a teenager anymore, _it is really fucking unfair_.  
  
Really. Fucking. Unfair.  
  
  
  
  
Kyungsoo is on an epic quest, emphasis on epic. It's been a long time since it started and most times everything felt a bit like fighting off a storm with a big heavy sword. Useless, tiring and a bit embarrassing. His troubles, though, should have been over once he found the _thing_ he had so stubbornly been looking for, but alas. No one has ever bothered to mention that, while Kyungsoo is already smitten with the plump lips and the deep voice, the love of his life would have to fall in love with Kyungsoo in the more traditional and slower way.  
  
Kyungsoo has a plan though. He did not spend the three days following their little meet-cute at the supermarket just alternating between elation and despair. He researched and how he has a plan.  
  
_This is for a greater good_ , he chants in his head as he stares at the engine of his car, hands firm with resolution, Kyungsoo gets to work.  
  
  
The person at the wheel of the tow car is some guy who barely looks out of highschool, that drives with the windows rolled down and his elbow out. Kyungsoo tastes disappointment on his tongue like one of those disgusting candies he found as a complementary gift in a motel once. They looked almost like chocolate, so much that Kyungsoo could already taste it, but when he finally bit onto it they were hard as rocks and tasted like shame and regret.  
  
It's just a minor set-back, though. No worries, his plan is still on track.  
  
The guy jumps down from the truck and pats down the pockets of his overalls looking for something. His hair are a weird yellowish blonde, fried from bleaching and standing up in every direction.  
  
“Good afternoon, kind costumer, I am Oh Sehun from CP Repairs, CPR for your car, how may I help you on this fine day?” he says it all in one breath, grimacing at every word. Or maybe that's a smile. It's hard to tell.  
  
“Uhm... my car broke down?” he answers, gesturing to his beloved, compact jeep.  
  
The guy, Sehun, takes a deep breath and nods, proceeding to mutter to himself as he looks over Kyungsoo's car, as he hooks it to the tow car and as he drives back towards the car shop. Finally, when they are halfway there, the murmur gets louder.  
  
“You want one?” he asks, pointing to single-wrapped colorful candies. “Apple is OK.” he adds, saying it like Kyungsoo really ought to choose Apple. Once Kyungsoo focuses it is also clear that all the candies in the cup holder are apple flavored, each and everyone wrapped in blue paper with tiny apples stamped all over.  
  
He picks one up. Toying a bit with the wrap that makes that satisfying crunchy noise, which seems to appease Sehun too, because his angry murmuring turns into soft humming. It's a song Kyungsoo knows from some commercial he heard somewhere, and he remembers enough to hum along softly at first and then louder, and louder until they are singing different words what turn out to be two different songs. Sehun, mindful of his role as the driver, giggles giving Kyungsoo's conspirator glances. Kyungsoo laughs outright, elbow resting on the open window and stomach feeling inexplicably light.  
  
As his first real human interaction in years he thinks he is doing a pretty good job of looking like he is a functioning member of society. Or maybe Sehun is just weird and Kyungsoo's soulmate will think Kyungsoo is also weird and that would be... bad. Mostly bad, but then maybe he is into weird guys so it could also be OK. Thinking about his soulmate makes him a bit anxious so he takes another candy without asking, trying to occupy his shaking hands with the crunchy wrap.  
  
When he turns to look at Sehun and ask if it's ok, the boy wink and smiles, taking up a new tune Kyungsoo has no problem following.  
  
  
  
The merry tow car arrives at the shop minutes later. Sehun hops down gracefully, while Kyungsoo climbs down from it like a monkey from a tree but with less grace. There are three cars parked inside and Kyungsoo can see a door leading to what looks like a much larger area with a few other cars. This is where his soulmate works. He found out on day two, along with the fact that walking in and making a big declaration was not going to be the best course of action.  
  
“So, did he say it?” suddenly comes a voice from behind him. There is a short man standing there, with overalls like Sehun's, but much dirtier, and a smile that promises trouble. Sehun groans in the background.  
  
“We are trying to improve our costumer service, you see,” the guy explains. “And Sehun here has a formula to recite once he greets new costumers, so... did he say it?”  
  
Kyungsoo is about to reply when Sehun precedes him. “Come on, Jongdae, stop bothering him, I said it, ok?” he sighs and straightens his back. “CP Repairs, CPR for your car!” he recites in a overly chipper tone that makes Kyungsoo shiver and Jongdae laugh maniacally.  
  
“Ok, I believe you, but you gotta do that again for the boss when he gets here,” Jongdae says, walking towards the counter to pick up a blue clipboard. “Sehun get Yixing to help you get the car to the back, Chanyeol's area.”  
  
Sehun salutes and hops on the tow truck again, driving away with Kyungsoo's jeep and leaving Kyungsoo alone with this unsettling Jongdae person. Another hurdle, Kyungsoo, just a step ahead.  
  
“So, it was actually a bet, Sehunnie needs to loosen up a bit,” he says, like Kyungsoo should know.  
  
He nods, “I think he did fine.”  
  
Jongdae just hums, apparently unconvinced, and jots down some notes on his clipboard. “So, what's your name?”  
  
“Kyungsoo,” he answers, following with his surname like and afterthought.  
  
“Ok, heard any weird noises, like clinking, clanking or thumping?”  
  
Kyungsoo should be honest and say he didn't fucking hear anything because he just decided to just mess up a perfectly working car just to meet his soulmate, who is not here. Instead he goes with a “Maybe some clanking.”  
  
“A drifter, mh?” asks Jongdae when Kyungsoo gives him the motel address. “How long are you in town for?”  
  
“I don't know yet, but I guess a while.”  
  
The way Jongdae hums at that makes him think he gave the wrong answer.  
  
  
  
°  
  
  
The word doesn't mean anything when he is five and covered in mud from playing outside with his grandfather's dog. It's just one of the thousand words adults use that he doesn't understand. His mother always tells him to ask when he doesn't understand something because asking is always the best way to learn. That's how he learned that 'chlorophyll' is plant's blood and food and he thinks this one will be just another weird word to show off to his friends. Something that sounds way more complicated than it is.  
  
When he asks wiping his hands on his dirty shorts, his mother doesn't smile like she is proud to have such a curious and smart son, like she usually does. She cries, instead. It is only a stray tear that runs down the apple of her cheek like a marble, but one or a thousand it doesn't make much of a difference.  
She is quick to wipe it and blame the dust.  
  
  
  
°  
  
  
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Kyungsoo agrees. if only because without that first coffee of the day that one thirteenth of fire breathing monster that's in him gets a bit too close to the surface. Though lately he has been running on excitement and dread, rather than caffeine.  
  
While walking and then riding and the driving around, Kyungsoo never realized how many things would change after he met his soulmate. How bigger the picture actually was. For example now, under his own number saved on his phone, he has Jongdae's and since yesterday he received three text messages. Three. And one of them even mentioned his soulmate!  
  
Walking to the coffee house close to diner closest to the hotel for breakfast, Kyungsoo also thinks he would like to have a library card and maybe a fidelity card for the supermarket and finally collect all the points he needs to get the stupid glass place holders he saw advertized the other day when he wet back to finally get his toothpaste (and also hoping to meet his soulmate again). Everything feels so amazing, so overwhelming, and they only ever really met once.  
  
It's still fairly early and he can pick at which table he wants to sit at, after he orders a breakfast special with plain black coffee. He could even stay long enough to have a 'usual'.  
  
“I heard it's more effective if you drink it,” someone says, startling Kyungsoo that barely catches himself before spilling all his coffee. Which he had been staring at rather intensely. It's Jongdae.  
  
“Mind if we join you?” he asks, pointing to Sehun still standing at the counter to chat with the cute cashier. He is holding both his and Jongdae's breakfast trays, making them shake when he laughs at something she said.  
  
“I don't mind company,” Kyungsoo mutters, mostly to himself, since Jongdae already took the seat right in front of him and is currently eying Kyungsoo's last hash-brown. Kyungsoo is really not above licking all the food on his plate to mark his territory, but this time he just stabs it viciously and gives Jongdae a very pointed stare.  
  
Jongdae just laughs, turning to look at Sehun, who is still lingering at the counter.  
  
“Ah, young love,” he sighs. “Sehun, I'd like to have breakfast _before_ dinner!”  
  
Cashier girl laughs at Sehun stuttered apology, and shoos him towards the table with a perfectly manicure hand. Kyungsoo noticed them while she was ringing up his order, they have little pandas painted on and he thought were very cute.  
  
“So, how is our favorite staff member doing today?” at Jongdae's question, Sehun only blushes harder than he already was, digging into his food without bothering to answer.  
  
Surprisingly, or maybe is just the novelty of it, Kyungsoo finds himself enjoining their little banter over breakfast, latching onto every word when his soulmate is mentioned. He listens carefully putting aside each information like a tiny gems. Like how fond he is of singing cheesy songs at open mic nights, or like how the first car he repaired was his mother's, and she only got as far as the first street corner before breaking down again.  
  
“But don't worry, he is definitely better at it now,” Jongdae reassures him and Sehun nods vigorously. “Speaking of which, you should come by tonight to pick up your car.”  
  
They leave after that, stopping by the counter to wave to the cute cashier and a flour covered guy that just appeared from the kitchen.  
  
  
  
°  
  
  
His mother used to sing him lullabies. They were as soft as the morning hue, filling every nook of his heart so well, Kyungsoo thought he could have slept for a thousand years if only his mother could have kept singing for that long. He still remembers most of them as indistinct murmuring, threads of gold that helped him not lose his way.  
  
As time went by, though, Kyungsoo found it harder to let himself be led by those shiny threads, and they became more of a golden cage he had to escape than a safety net.  
  
Everything changed one morning, when he woke with a start, jumping out of bed as it were on fire. He walked down the creaking stairs of his home, his heart beating madly in his chest. When he stepped into the kitchen, his father was drinking herb tea and his mother was laughing and there were toasts and fruits and jams on the table. Just like any other day, just like the day before, but right then the sight made him ill. So when his parents turned to look at him, still smiling, what came out of his mouth was not 'good morning'.  
  
“I have to go,” he said, and the laughing stopped and his father's eyes grew dimmer.  
  
His mother sang again while Kyungsoo got further and further away, but this time her song was more like the wind in his back, making his feet steadier rather than holding him back.  
  
  
  
°  
  
  
Kyungsoo manages to get to the garage around five. He feels a bit silly because he pulled out his good sweater and the good jeans he bought the first time he was at a mall. Still, with his first impression already shot to hell he needs to prove that he can look like a lunatic in a supermarket, but also like a fine young man when he puts his mind to it. Good efforts never go to waste.  
  
When he walks in, there is music playing and an employee he hadn't seen yet is swaying his hips to the tune while he mops the floor. The music has a slow tempo and mellow words about a lost love, but the guy is moving to a whole different speed. He looks a bit crazy and it makes Kyungsoo feel better about the whole toothpaste incident.  
  
“Sorry,” he says when he feels like he has stared enough.  
  
The guy turns with a sort of pirouette and smiles. “Hello,” he greets, “Are you Kyungsoo? For the gray jeep?”  
  
Kyungsoo nods and the guy smiles wider showing a tiny dimple, only one. He puts aside the mop and wipes his hands down the pants of his overall, offering one for Kyungsoo to shake. He has the sleeves looped around his waist and wears a Cars t-shirt, and it makes Kyungsoo smile too.  
  
“I'm Yixing,” he introduces himself, using his hold on Kyungsoo to bring him closer. Yixing loops an arm around Kyungsoo's shoulder and steers him towards the open door the leads to the back of the shop. He is talking about the car, most likely, but all Kyungsoo can focus on is the almost hug Yixing is giving him. It's a bit too much all at once, but maybe not in a bad way.  
  
“Boss took care of it himself,” Yixing whispers much too loudly, clearly intending to be heard.  
  
“Watch it, Zhang, remember who signs your check!” a booming voice answers.  
  
Suddenly, Kyungsoo finds it very hard to be as smart as the way he dressed suggests. His soulmate is standing beside Kyungsoo's car with a clipboard, pointing the tip of his pen towards Yixing in a menacing way. Yixing beside him just giggles.  
  
The grease looks good on his soulmate face, Kyungsoo has noticed, but the darker tint under his eyes he could do without. It makes Kyungsoo ache a bit to see signs of fatigue on his soulmate face, yet it makes his smile so much warmer.  
  
He could say it now, look at me, can't you see it?, he could scream it now that his soulmate is looking right at him and he almost does. He catches himself just in time.  
  
“I'm Kyungsoo,” he mutters, breaking the ongoing argument between employer and employee.  
  
“I'm Chanyeol,” he smiles fondly, giving the hood of the jeep a soft pat. “So, it is in pretty great condition all things considered.”  
  
His soulmate likes cars. Of all the things he says that's the only thing Kyungsoo honestly cares about, one more thing to add to the things he knows about this person. He also likes his job, which is a great start to live a long and happy life. Find a job you love and you won't work a day in your life! He read it on a oily piece of paper inside a chocolate once.  
  
As they move to the counter to pay, Kyungsoo still hasn't found a way to say anything remarkable or funny or both. His soulmate is right there and all he will probably remember of Kyungsoo tomorrow will be his ineptitude at keeping his car running.  
  
He could still find something else to smash, cables to unplug and come back, try again. The engine of a car is most unpredictable when one doesn't expect it to be, after all. Some people find helplessness endearing, but Kyungsoo doesn't want to be the fumbling client with the perpetually broken car. His shoulmate should know that his car means nothing, that if need be Kyungsoo would run to their side, paddle through a river and climb a mountain.  
  
He just needs to find the right words.  
  
“So you going somewhere tonight?” Yixing asks out of the blue. “You look nice.”  
  
Kyungsoo blinks twice rapidly, Yixing just complimented him and now his soulmate is looking at him, head to tow, humming in agreement.  
  
“Actually not,” he answers, a bit embarrassed. His soulmate is still smiling though, and sort of indirectly noticed that Kyungsoo had dressed nicely.  
  
“You should come with us then,” Yixing is leaning over the counter with a warm smile that looks sincere and Kyungsoo darts a look at his soulmate that is nodding along. “Jongdae said you're in town for only a little while, you should have fun while you can.”  
  
“We're not doing anything special, but you're welcome.”  
  
Yes, Kyungsoo says, because what else can he answer?  
  
  
°  
  
  
  
There are thousand of stars in the sky, but Kyungsoo is sure that he has spent enough time staring at the night sky that he could have counted them all if he so wished. They were steady, his new lullaby in a world that swept him away like a flood while all he had to protect himself was a broken umbrella.  
  
For some time he tried to keep a diary, entries written in different kind of papers, lists of things he wanted so desperately to remember between countless days that were all the same. Things he wanted to bring as gifts, tiny bits of himself he wanted to share. Soon it was clear that the idea was as romantic as it was unpractical, and Kyungsoo found himself warming up to a twinkling fire made of his first time riding a bike and that time he tried to climb a tree and almost broke all his bones.  
  
He had gotten good at leaving things behind by then, too.  
  
  
  
°  
  
  
  
Kyungsoo already knows half the people sitting at the table, but it gives him small relief when his soulmate is sitting right beside him, with an arm resting on the back of the booth, right behind Kyungsoo's head. He smiles and laughs shaking with the force of it, but for Kyungsoo's hard-to-swallow first beer Chanyeol already had three.  
  
“I have been... traveling,” he answers when Sehun's gym friend asks. It's neutral enough that it doesn't even feel like lying.  
  
“Is it one of those existential trips across the world or... ?” he trails off. Kyungsoo would really like to remember the guy's name, it would only be polite after he offered the first round of drinks (which Kyungsoo is still half enjoying). It's difficult though, when beer made his soulmate body lax, his posture more relaxed, making him lean against Kyungsoo's side. Though, he thinks explaining that he has been roaming earth before the first router was invented to look for a chance at happiness would be probably sound crazy.  
  
“It began like that,” he chuckles self-conciously. “Then I sort of made a job of it.” half lies, half truths. Kyungsoo turns to look at his left and finds his soulmate's eyes strangely clear, focused. He holds his gaze and the uneasiness fades, the feeling of inadequacy dissipates, substituted by a calmness that feels foreign. Where the pull to go and run and leave once was, there is a soft hum and Kyungsoo lets himself be lulled by it into a sense of security.  
  
“Chanyeol used to have this big map in his room with all these places he wanted to visit,” Sehun says, and Chanyeol whips his head in his direction, smiling on the wrong side of wide.  
  
“Who wants another round?” he ask, already standing and effectively ending the conversation.  
  
Kyungsoo watches him approach the counter, shaking hands and waving on his way. His soulmate is also well liked in his community, it means he is kind and honest, though more often than not kindness is exploited and honesty is taken for naivety. He wonders what's the case with Chanyeol.  
  
“It's been a long week,” Jongdae says to his ear, and Kyungsoo turns to look at him with questioning eyes. “He just has a lot in his mind.”  
  
“Can't he take a break?” and he can't help the tinge of accusation that he directs at Jongdae.  
  
“Good luck telling him that.” Jongdae looks a bit sad as he says it, like this is a battle he already lost once too many times.  
  
Chanyeol comes back with two beers and a ginger ale he slips to Kyungsoom exchanging it with his half finished beer. He winks when Kyungsoo rises an eyebrow. “Didn't look like you were enjoying it much.”  
  
Kyungsoo sips his ginger ale, while Chanyeol finishes his beer and asks about the places he visited. He looks a bit wistful while he listens, asking more questions when his smile is about to drop. Every once in a while they get interrupted by some joke or someone singing along to the background music. With Chanyeol leaning close and Jongdae's elbow digging into his side, with the bitter taste of bee still lingering on his tongue, Kyungsoo lets himself hope.  
  
  
  
°  
  
  
Kyungsoo has Chanyeol's number – and Jongdae's and Sehun's and Yixing's – and after a week the cute cashier girl at the breakfast place doesn't even ask how he wants his coffee and it's all very nice.  
  
Chanyeol texts him once, asking about tortoises in the Galapagos, and when Kyungsoo answers he's like a river. And the questions about foreign countries turn into asking about Kyungsoo's inyerests, with Chanyeol sharing bits, morsels, while Kyungsoo is starving.  
  
_Isn't it lonely to always travel alone?_ Comes way past midnight two days after their group outing. Kyungsoo has no answer that could fit in the tiny screen of his smart phone.  
  
_Yes_ , he types back.  
  
  
  
°  
  
  
  
After a week, Kyungsoo patiently waits for lunch break outside the repair shop. He has a bag of take out from the bakery that also makes delicious soup to go with their bread in one hand and all his determination in his other hand.  
  
From their texting he gathered that Chanyeol usually takes his break inside the garage, on call while the rest of his staff scamper off to eat lunch comfortably somewhere. Unbelievable.  
  
When he sees everyone – minus Chanyeol – shuffle out, he makes a beeline for the entrance, going straight for the main area in the back. Chanyeol is sitting at a desk shoved against a wall, bent over some documents. He has a half eaten sandwich sitting on his desk, that looks dry and tasteless even from where Kyungsoo is standing.  
  
“Hello,” he calls, catching Chanyeol's attention.  
  
“Hey,” Chanyeol smiles tiredly, making his wheeled chair creak as he spins around. He chuckles checking it for stability. “It was my father's, it's kinda old.”  
  
“I brought you lunch,” Kyungsoo says, handing Chanyeol the take out bag, while he shamelessly checks the documents on the table. When he got in Chanyeol looked very close to pulling out his hair.  
  
Chanyeol takes the bag, if only because Kyungsoo caught his off guard, but makes a soft noise of approval once he opens the bag and smells the delicious soup. It makes Kyungsoo feel warm, even something this small makes him so happy.  
  
“I was trying to catch up with some bookkeeping, but numbers were never my forte.” he is already munching on some bread, to Kyungsoo this is already a small victory.  
  
“I see,” Kyungsoo says, purposefully teasing, laughing when Chanyeol lightly kicks him in the sheen. “That how you repay me for saving you from dry turkey and tax returns?” he asks, dramatically clutching his heart. Chanyeol rises a brow, still smiling, challenging.  
  
“I saw a book in your car,” Chanyeol says after a beat of silence. “It was on the passenger seat so I wasn't really snooping.”  
  
Kyungsoo shrugs. “Which one was it?”  
  
“Tomatoes for breakfast.”  
  
“Oh, it's my favorite,” he answers earnestly, “I found a copy at a used bookstore and it's the only book I haven't given away yet.”  
  
Chanyeol hums thoughtfully, stirring his soup a bit. “So you like it?”  
  
“Yes, it's comforting in a way most thing aren't,” Kyungsoo read the story of Sweet Pea and Cherry Tomato thousands of times. The two travel together through a land riddled with obstacles to find a treasure they're not even sure exists. One could read it to a kid and all they would see is a cute story about vegetables, but to adults eyes it is way more. Both protagonists battle with their inner demons, fight off prejudice and depression to follow an evanescent dream. Kyungsoo could relate a lot.  
  
“I see,” is all Chanyeol has to say about it.  
  
They eat together, Chanyeol giving up his seat to Kyungsoo while he seats on the concrete. Talking in person is a bit harder, but Chanyeol talks enough for the both of them, making Kyungsoo laugh so hard he spills soup on his clean jeans.  
  
While he tries to clean up as best as he can, his phone beeps with a message. It's from Jongdae, _Good job_ , it reads. Kyungsoo blinks at the screen a couple of time, under the message there is a picture of the two of them eating and talking taken from the entrance. He is quick to hide it from Chanyeol, though he will probably turn to look at it later.  
  
He answers with an _I try_ , and hopes Jongdae understands.  
  
  
  
  
Kyungsoo starts to come in everyday at lunch. Brings rolls, coffee, burgers, some Indian and whatever else he finds. He sits on the chair while Chanyeol brings a pillow from home to sit on and they talk. Then, when everyone is back and Chaneyol, reluctantly has to go back to work, Kyungsoo spends a couple of hours making sense of Chanyeol's chicken writing on the side of receipts.  
  
  
  
  
“Are you free tonight?” Chanyeol asks out of the blue one afternoon, while Kyungsoo is wrapping up for the day. He is uselessly whispering, like Sehun banging on that Honda couldn't cover an actual explosion.  
  
“Yeah, why?” he asks, smiling in front of Chanyeol's excitement.  
  
“We're going out,” he says with a grin. “It's the first day of spring.” He doesn't add anything else, only tells Kyungsoo to be ready when the shop closes and not be late.  
  
  
  
  
  
When Kyungsoo gets there, stomach almost inside out with nervousness, everyone is there. He didn't expect Chanyeol's invitation to be solely directed to him, except he did and now he can't help but being a little disappointed.  
  
“Where are we going?” he asks, but they all just smile enigmatically and don't answer his question. With both hand's on Kyungsoo's shoulders, Chanyeol steers him back towards his car.  
  
“You'll see,” he says like that should be enough.  
  
Chanyeol fiddles with the radio, while Kyungsoo has his eyes fixed on Jongdae's car ahead of them. They are in a frigging forest and outside it's getting darker as it get later.  
  
“Are you going to kill me and throw my body to wild wolves?” he asks out of the blue, hoping to distract Chanyeol enough from the radio to listen to a whole song.  
  
“What?” Chanyeol is already laughing and Kyungsoo feels a bit stupid for even asking. “You'e too hard to chew, 'Soo, I don't think they'd want you.”  
  
“Oh, yeah?” he says, reaching over to smack Chanyeol repeatedly. It's not safe to disturb the driver so Chanyeol takes the hit and only complains a little, smiling all the while.  
  
“We're almost there,” Chanyeol says quietly. “It's a first day of spring tradition.”  
  
He doesn't even have to explain, because as soon as they round the corner, beyond the sparser threes ahead, Kyungsoo can see the lake.  
  
  
  
“The water is freezing!” Sehun screams from the shore. He just dipped his toe in the water and now is jumping around on the pebbles, probably summoning the courage to jump into the water.  
  
“Says that every year and then he is the last one to come out of the water,” Chanyeol snorts, stuffing his socks into his shoes.  
  
Kyungsoo is right beside him, still trying to take off his shoes, while his brain is trying to catch up with the notion that Chanyeol is about to strip and Kyungsoo is allowed to look because they will all be looking, but not _looking_. Kyungsoo probably will be, _looking_ , that is, because in the past few weeks he realized that beside being kind and honest and passionate, Chanyeol is also mesmerizing to look at. Lately, the attraction that has been slowly simmering in the back burner now is demanding his attention.  
  
They light up a fire, and Jongdae brings out marshmallows and crackers, while Yixing has the chocolate.  
  
“No eating before bathing!” Jongdae admonishes swatting Sehun's grabby hands.  
  
Shivering, they undress. The day had been mercifully warm, but the night is still a bit too chilly to go around just in their underwear, so by the time they all stand at the shore of the lake, with freezing water licking their feet, each one of them has second thoughts about actually diving in.  
  
The first one to go is Yixing, screaming about evil exams and stupid money. Next goes Sehun, who trips halfway through his scream and faceplants into the water. Then Jongdae that winks at Kyungsoo and doesn't scream anything before jumping. Then goes Chanyeol, that screams about bookkeeping and grabs Kyungsoo's hand, bringing him down with too.  
  
It must be less than ten seconds before Kyungsoo ungracefully scampers off as far away from the shore as he can, grabbing one of the bigger towels they brought to wrap around himself.  
  
“You did great,” Chanyeol is beaming when he finally comes out of the water. He is red all over and Kyungsoo doesn't even have time to feel embarrassed, or worse aroused, because he is too worried about keeping him from getting pneumonia. Everyone laughs when he starts drying Chanyeol's hair and sits him down as close to the fire as he can without actually sitting him on burning coals.  
  
Kyungsoo catches Jongdae's eyes from the other side of the fire pit and Jongdae winks, before handing out s'mores kits to everyone.  
  
He looks around the fire and still can't believe that he has hia soulmate within reach and this weird assortment of people that send him pictures of food and snippets of music and pictures of tiny animals at random times of the day and bring him out in the woods to take part to masochistic traditions.  
  
He laughs as he tries to eat his first s'more all in one go before the chocolate melts too much, while Chanyeol already has chocolate mustaches and Sehun just dropped his marshmallow into the fire. It feels good, tastes good and Kyungsoo would dare say that he is happy, right this moment, wrapped up in a fluffy towel and with pebbles digging into his ass.  
  
Chanyeol's phone rings then. It's a loud tone Kyungsoo doesn't recognize, but makes Chanyeol jump and everyone stand to attention.  
  
“Yes?” he answers frowning at his feet. “No... of course it's in the cabinet, in the bathroom... No, I'm coming right away.”  
  
“Something wrong?” Yixing looks serious, watching Chanyeol carefully.  
  
“Nothing to worry about, but I have to go back home,” and he is already pulling on his pants.  
  
Without bothering to ask, Kyungsoo stands and dresses, almost growling when Chanyeol goes for the car keys. Chanyeol smiles, raising his hands and Kyungsoo winks, while gathering his stuff.  
  
“I'll call you guys later, don't worry,” Chanyeol reassures them and then they're off.  
  
“You have to give me directions,” Kyungsoo says after a while. Chanyeol is looking pensively outside of the window.  
  
“Just drive to the shop, I'll go from there,” his tone is quiet a bit raw and there is no way Kyungsoo is leaving him anywhere right now. So, he tells him just that. “Stubborn,” Chanyeol mutters, but still starts giving him directions.  
  
Chanyeol's house is on the third floor of an apartment building in a nice neighborhood close to the shop. They don't have an elevator, but the stairs are a good exercise. The paint is new, the just re decorated a couple of months before, it used to be piss yellow, this cream is much better. Chanyeol rambles on as they trek up the stairs, walking ahead and turning to check if Kyungsoo is still bent on following him every few steps.  
  
“My house is a mess,” he says when they finally reach his door. “It's a mess because my six-year old sister lives with me and she likes to make pillow forts and play Godzilla and I'm shit at saying no.”  
  
He looks at Kyungsoo for comfort, for reassurance, but Kyungsoo has neither right then, so he just nods and squeezes Chanyeol's forearm hoping it's enough. “She's got a fever and asked for me,” he chuckles, “As you can see I'm really not good at disappointing the queen of the castle.”  
  
He turns to open the door and Kyungsoo follows, head spinning from the revelation and the realization of what little he still knows about Chanyeol, how little he shared. Kyungsoo is supposed to relieve him from his burdens, make him happy and all he managed to do so far was bring him lunch and do his taxes.  
Chanyeol has broad shoulders that hunch when he steps inside and greets the slim lady that must be the nanny. They talk in hushed tones and Chanyeol nods while she explains that Ellie already too her medicine, but really wanted her big brother to tell her a story before bed.  
  
Kyungsoo gives himself time to look around, finding that the house is much cleaner and in order than he expected it to find, though the amount of comforters and throw pillows on the couch is rather suspicious. There are also toys here and there and on the lower shelves he can see rows of kids books and board games, and a little stool is positioned in front of the sink in the kitchen.  
  
“Come with me,” Chanyeol's hushed tone surprises him and he barely has time to say anything more than goodbye to the babysitter before she's gone. “She wants a story,” he huffs, taking Kyungsoo's hand to lead him down the short hallway to the rooms. “I think she just likes to humiliate me.”  
  
He stops dead on his tracks then, turning to look at Kyungsoo very seriously, “Kyungsoo my stories have plot holes, why do I end up with the only six year old that knows what a plot hole is?”  
  
The genuine distress in his voice makes Kyungsoo smile, he pats him back, murmuring a soothing _there, there_. “I might just know the story for her.”  
  
Ellie is elated to see guests appearing with her big brother. She's so happy that for a moment she forgets that she's sick and stands suddenly, upsetting her already fragile stomach and puking all over Chanyeol's feet.  
  
“That shade of green goes lovely with my eyes, thank you sweetie,” he says removing his dirty socks.  
  
“You're welcome,” she replies after drinking some water and assuming a safer fetal position on the bed. “My story?”  
  
Chanyeol pleadingly turns to Kyungsoo, who smiles and goes to sit on the floor by the bed, at a safe distance from the pool of vomit.  
  
  
°  
  
The story goes that many years ago there was a man that fell in love with the sea, but not any sea, mind you. He fell in love with a stretch of white sand that disappeared into the bluest sea he had ever seen. The man could have stared at the sea for days on end, entranced by the way the sunlight reverberated over the waves and how the moon kissed the surface.  
  
He sat there everyday watching, until one day he saw something move in the water, though it was no fish, but a mermaid. Sadly, the man did not know how to swim, so he stayed on the shore and watched on.  
  
Day after day the mermaid came back and the man watched as she swam in shallow waters never getting close enough for him to really see her, or try and talk to her. He didn't know that she had been watching him too.  
  
  
  
°  
  
  
  
“Yeah, but how does it end?” Ellie demands, but her eyes slipping closed.  
  
“Did they meet?” Chanyeol asks, maybe more eager than his sister.  
  
“They met,” he answers, sighing. “One night the mermaid called all her fish friends and they gathered thousands and thousands of rocks to have the man that couldn't swim meet the mermaid that couldn't walk.”  
  
The story is so old he is probably not telling it right anymore.  
  
Ellie is already asleep. Chanyeol looks down to her fondly, stroking her dark hair off her face. He puts his index to his mouth and slowly stands, guiding Kyungsoo to his own at the end of the hallway.  
  
“I always worry too much when she's sick,” he says, pressing his fingers to his eyes.  
  
“She seems like a tough girl,” Kyungsoo offers earning himself a big smile from Chanyeol.  
  
“Yeah, real strong.”  
  
He sighs wistfully before he goes to look for something tiny Kyungsoo could wear to bed. Maybe something from Ellies closet?  
  
“Don't test me, you'll be sorry.” warns Kyungsoo, that ends up with pants that almost reach his armpit and a shirt that almost falls to his knees.  
  
Chanyeol tucks them both in, positioning Kyungsoo as he were a stuffed toy and the pecks him on the lips, whispering a soft goodnight while he turns off the lights. Kyungsoo is stunned for a second, he blinks owlishly in the darkness willing his heart to slow down a second.  
  
“You know?” Chanyeol says after a while. “The book you like the most? Tomatoes for breakfast?”  
  
Kyungsoo hums, unable to say much more.  
  
“I wrote it. ”  
  



End file.
